This invention relates to apparatus for pouring liquid into cups and, in particular to such apparatus which is provided with a perforating device for perforating a top cover of a top covered cup whereby the liquid may be poured into the cup through a hole in the top cover which is formed by the perforating device.
Recently, processed and dried foodstuffs, or instant meals, contained in cups have been produced and commercially sold which are readily cooked merely by pouring boiled water thereon, followed if necessary by mixing. For example, processed foods, such as processed and dried noodles, rices, curry and rice, stew and so on which are contained in cups, have been commercially sold.
In selling cups containing such processed foodstuffs (which will be referred as "cup-foods" hereinafter), automatic vending machines may be employed. But if the employed machine is one having only a vending function without any provision for feeding boiled water into the cup, a purchaser of the cup-foods cannot eat it instantly.
A vending machine has been also used for selling cup-foods, which is provided with a cooking apparatus, by which a purchaser can instantly cook a purchased cup-food by the use of the cooking apparatus and eat it.
Such cooking apparatus comprises a cooking chamber with a door, a source of hot water, or boiled water, and a feeding device, for the water, all of which are arranged in a housing of the vending machine.
The purchaser opens the door of the cooking chamber to put the cup-food into the chamber, and then closes the door. Thereafter, he pushes a cooking button which controls the feeding device to supply single cup quantities of boiled water. Thus boiled water is poured into the cup within the cooking chamber to cook the cup-food.
In the prior art, the purchaser must tear off the cover of the cup before placing it into the cooking chamber in order to permit the boiled water to be poured into the cup. This can annoy the purchaser. Moreover, the boiled water is then exposed to the atmosphere in the cooking chamber causing it to decrease in temperature so that the foods in the cup may not be cooked adequately.